A/N: Okay, so I think you're all still a little unsure about the last chapter. I hope you liked it even though it wasn't exactly what you were expecting. For those who reviewed, thank you very much. Starting with this chapter we're going to be spending a lot more time with Scott. In fact, the X-Men won't be appearing at all for a few chapters.

Another thing I should mention is that I need to apologize to all of you. I'm lazy and a horrible procrastinator. As a result, I haven't written anything after this chapter. I'm going to do my best to keep giving you a new chapter each week, but there will probably be times that I don't make it. I'm sorry in advance for those weeks that you have to wait.

As you'll see soon enough, this chapter includes a pretty big time jump. I just want to mention right now that the X-Men's lives have been exactly as you saw them on the show since Scott's departure. The only difference was that Scott wasn't around. This of course affected a few characters enough to change them a little from their TV counterpart, but all the events of the show happened in this fic. Did that make sense? Let me know if not and I'll try to clarify.

Finally, I just wanted to say that for those of you who are familiar with Memphis, Tennesee, I hope you enjoy this chapter and the subsequent ones as well. I live close to Memphis so I feel like I have a pretty good sense of the city. If you don't know anything about Memphis, don't worry. It's not that important.

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The world can change a lot in eight years. That's especially true if the beginning of that eight-year period was marked by a court case that revealed the existence of mutants to the world. After Scott Summers escaped police custody, he was rumored to have fled the country. This was never proven, but the police never found any evidence to prove otherwise either. Of course, the consequences of the Summers case stuck around a little longer than the defendant. Not long after the escape, Congress declared mutants a menace to society. The act they passed was designed to protect normal humans from the dangers posed by mutants. For about 4 months, mutants were simply seen as unfit for society. It wasn't illegal to be a mutant, but many were assaulted, murdered, or wrongfully arrested during that time period. Then there was the Sentinel incident in New York. A huge robot was caught on camera in a fight with a group of mutants, later revealed as a group called the X-Men. There was a fear that "mutant resistance" groups might be forming around the country, but the X-Men eventually proved they were peaceful by defeating another mutant named Juggernaught in a battle on top of a dam that protected a small city. After that, the X-Men and most other mutants were allowed to live their normal lives again.

Of course, there were some places around the world that still remained hostile towards mutantkind. These became known as "danger zones" by mutants. But there were plenty of "safe havens" too, regions that had laws requiring mutant equality. But the danger zones and safe havens were vastly outnumbered by "neutral areas," cities and regions where mutants were generally accepted by about half the population and despised by the other half. Memphis, Tennessee was a well-known neutral area. That's what made it the perfect spot.

Commercial jets fly in and out of Memphis International Airport everyday. Thousands of people enter and leave the large southern city constantly, so it's rarely a big deal when a jet lands there. For this reason, Flight 830 from San Diego arrived with no ceremony except the happy reunions of families who had been separated while Mommy or Daddy was gone on a business trip. The passengers simply shuffled out of the plane and into the airport terminal with their carry-on bags and children in their arms. There was no band there to welcome them; nor was the mayor on hand to give a speech. Simply put, no one knew who had just landed.

Doing his best to blend in with the crowd was a tall man wearing a black leather coat and carrying a small carry-on bag with locks on the zippers. The long brown bangs he had worn over his forehead in his youth had been long since cut off and his face was much more mature than it had been eight years before, though the red sunglasses still remained a permanent fixture. Scott Fletcher, as he now called himself, walked quickly through the terminal and towards the baggage claim. As he did so, he kept watching the people surrounding him in the terminal. He couldn't help but wonder how many were residents of the city. He smiled to himself. If they only knew why he was here.

Scott watched the room numbers as he walked down the hallway, his new key in hand. Finally he reached apartment 1413 and unlocked the door. Inside was his new home. It was simple enough. There was one bedroom, one bathroom, a living room, and a small kitchen area. It was also cheap and completely furnished, both very important. The windows in the living room and bedroom faced north, looking out on downtown Memphis. From there he could see the Mississippi River flowing underneath the famous Memphis Bridge, shaped like a huge round M. The Pyramid, a basketball arena in the shape of its namesake, stood guard on the banks of the river and Mud Island rested just off the shoreline. Across the river was the eastern edge of Arkansas. Below him were the streets of Memphis. Beale Street and all its clubs, pubs, and bars were just to his right, but a tall bank building blocked his view of the famous street. Across the street from Scott's apartment stood a small office building, only 12 stories tall. The street below him was narrow with only two lanes. He wondered if he could jump out his window and land on the roof of the building across from him. He smiled a little. It'd certainly be worth a try.

Scott moved into his bedroom and began unpacking his bag into his new closet. It didn't take long to unpack all his belongings. He'd spent enough time living out of a suitcase that he had learned long before how to live light. He had left most of us personal belongings in Seattle, his last place of residence. In fact, he had only brought two bags. The first was a large black duffel bag filled with his clothes and general belongings. The second was the carry-on with the locks. It wasn't long until the duffel bag was completely unpacked, leaving only the small locked one still full. He put it on the top shelf of his closet without opening it. That time would come later. For now, he settled into his new couch and looked around the small apartment.

Finally it was time to start the life he had been planning for so long. This would be the fourth stage of his life. He had lived out the first stage as a happy child living with his parents and brother. The second stage had included his time as a struggling orphan as well as his year and a half at the Xavier Institute, which now seemed like an eternity before. The third stage had seen him traveling around the world studying, learning, and preparing for what was to come. He had spent the last eight years living under various names in dozens of locations. He had honed his mind and his body and he was finally ready to take on his new mission. Scott was bigger now than he had been during his time with the X-Men. His muscles were larger and more toned. He had grown a few inches more and now stood at about 6'5". He had the perfect body now and he knew he would need it in order to pull off this fourth and final stage of his life.

He turned on the TV just in time to catch the 6:00 local news. But just as the anchors appeared on screen he heard a knock on the door.

"Great, the neighbors are nosy! That's just what I needed," he mumbled to himself as he stood up.

Scott walked across the room and opened the door to find a middle-aged black man looking into his face. He stood about 6'1" and his hair was just beginning to go gray on the sides. He extended his hand towards Scott.

"Hi there," said the man cheerfully. "Name's Nate Reynolds. I live next door."

Scott shook his hand with a nod. "Hi. Scott Fletcher."

"Nice to meet ya, Scott. I was just on my way home from work when I noticed you'd moved in. Mind if I come in for a little bit?"

"Sure," said Scott, stepping a little to the side to allow the man in the room.

"Thanks. My heater's not working real well right now and I'm just not ready to go in there and freeze quite yet, y'know what I mean?"

Scott faked a friendly smile. "Yeah. The heater's pretty important in February."

"Heh, that it is," said Nate as he sat in a chair by Scott's table.

"So," said Scott, searching for something to say. The truth was Scott would like nothing more at the time than for Nate Reynolds to get out of his apartment. But, he decided life would be much easier if he was friendly to the people around him. He simply couldn't afford to make people curious about who he was and what he did. "Where do you work?" he asked finally as he sat down across from Nate at the table

"I'm a doctor," said Nate with a proud look on his face.

"A doctor?" said Scott suspiciously. "What's a doctor doing living in a cheap apartment building like this?"

Nate's smile dampened a little as he leaned forward. "I said I was a doctor. I didn't say I was rich." He smiled a broad smile at Scott. "I run a small clinic downtown that treats people who can't afford to go to the hospital."

"Oh," said Scott. "Sounds like a good service."

"Yeah, assuming you don't mind treating patients who can't afford to pay."

"But without you they wouldn't get treated at all," said Scott.

Nate smiled. "Exactly what I tell myself all the time. 'Course, it isn't the work I dreamed of doing in medical school. I was the first member of my family to graduate from college. I thought I was gonna be the best physician the country had ever seen."

"So what happened?" asked Scott.

"Couldn't find a job. No one would hire me." The smile still wasn't disappearing from his face.

"Because you're black?"

"No. No, it was because I'm a mutant."

Scott looked at the kind man with a bit of shock on his face. He had never met any mutant that would willingly reveal that secret to a perfect stranger.

"I'm sorry," said Nate after a moment of silence. "Did I just make you uncomfortable?"

"No," said Scott. "Actually I'm a mutant myself. I just…do you always tell everyone you meet about it?"

"No," said Nate with that ever-present smile. "I've learned to read people and decide if they'd be open to me or not. You can tell mutant haters by their actions and those are the people you don't say anything to. You, on the other hand, let me come in your home within two hours of moving in and were willing to talk to me like an old friend, despite feeling that I was nosy, chipper, and annoying."

"Oh," said Scott, still a little amazed at the man. "So I assume you're a telepath?"

Nate laughed. "No. No, I'm just a guy who's good at reading emotions. I do it all the time. You never know when someone's gonna figure out your secret so I try to always stay a step ahead of the other guy by reading body language so I can know what he's thinking. It's a handy little skill to have."

Scott smiled a little. "I guess that's true. So do you find yourself meeting more people who hate us or love us around here?"

Nate raised his hand as if to brush the thought away. "Most people in this city don't have a problem with mutants. Just be careful. There aren't many misguided bigots out there, but there's enough."

"I'm sure. So how did being a mutant affect your ability to get a job?" Scott was now genuinely enthralled by Nate. He seemed kind and warm, both of which were traits Scott hadn't seen in a long time.

"Finding a job as a doctor isn't exactly easy when you're like the two of us," said Nate. "How old are you?"

"Twenty-five."

"So then I was a little older than you when I graduated, twenty-seven actually. Anyway, about the time I started looking for a job was the same time that the world learned about mutants. That Scott Summers kid up in New York killed a boy and suddenly every hospital was asking if you were a mutant on the application! If you said yes, you didn't get the job."

"So why not say no?"

"I finally did when I realized that was the only way to get hired. I got that job too. But I was only there about three months before I used my powers on a patient and got caught. Keep in mind this was still before the Sentinel attack up north."

"You used your powers on a patient?" asked Scott in amazement.

Nate chuckled. "You make it sound like my power is instant death or something! No, you see I have a healing power. I can touch someone and heal physical wounds. There are limits though. For example, I can't set a broken bone that's out of place, but I can help it if the break isn't too bad. Of course, the body's not supposed to heal up as fast as I make it heal. So the day after I use my powers on someone they usually find themselves taking all the painkillers they can get their hands on. But it's better than the alternative. Anyway, I had a patient who was looking real bad. Car wreck. He was gonna die if I didn't do something so I healed him up with my powers real quick. A nurse saw it and reported me. I was fired within two days and I founded the clinic three weeks later."

"That's interesting," said Scott. "I used to know a guy whose power was that he could heal himself. It was pretty incredible. I saw him get shot in the stomach once and within 45 seconds he was back to new!"

"Did he have any pains later on?" asked Nate curiously.

"No. He was fine."

"Wow. I wish I had that power instead!" said Nate with a warm laugh. "My power doesn't work so well on myself, only on others. So what are your powers? You did say you're a mutant, right?"

Scott thought for a moment on whether to lie or tell the truth. Nate might recognize his power as that of Scott Summers. Or worse, he might remember later on and figure out Scott's secret. But ultimately, Nate seemed like a good guy who simply didn't deserve to be lied to.

"My eyes fire out a destructive blast. Hence the sunglasses."

"Ah, I was wondering about the shades. So you can't control it yourself?"

"Nope. I wish I could, but it just doesn't work that way."

"Well, maybe one day you'll learn how."

"With any luck."

The two fell into an awkward silence that was filled only with the sounds of the news on TV.

"Another murder claimed the life of Nelson Wright today in downtown Memphis," said the anchorwoman. "Mr. Wright, an assistant to District Attorney Robert Wicks, was killed while walking up the steps of the Shelby County Courthouse. Police Commissioner Ron Driscoll refused to comment when asked if the murder was connected to the spree of killings that have gripped the downtown area for the last six months. But he did say that the style fits that of the Sonance Slayings."

"So what's with this about a string of killings? Anything I should worry about?" asked Scott.

Nate turned to the TV as he answered. "It's crazy stuff. There's this guy in town who goes by Sonance. He's a crime boss, runs this whole mob organization. They say he's a mutant, but the police can't catch him. Don't even know who he is! They've been looking for him since he started killing folks last year. You shouldn't have anything to worry about though. He only kills guys who work with the city government."

"Actually, I'm working for the city government," said Scott.

Nate turned back to him with a sheepish look on his face. "Oh! Well then I'm sorry to scare you like that! What's your position?"

"I'm just a lowly office employee working at the courthouse. Basically I work as a courier. I'm in charge of getting case files from the police to the lawyers to the judges and back to the lawyers and the police."

Scott had taken the job more out of the need for a daily appearance than for anything else. Plus it might be a way to hear things that would prove helpful. He didn't really need the money though. After he left the mansion, Scott had taken one million dollars from the Institute's account. He had seen Xavier's records while making a deposit for him a couple months before the murder. To Xavier, a million bucks was like one drop in the huge bucket and Scott knew it. He had taken the money and invested it to ensure it never ran out. At this point, he had turned the stolen million into nearly four million dollars through the stock market. Simply put, Scott was set for life.

"So who from the government is getting killed?" asked Scott. "City officials?"

"No. It's normally smaller people like assistants to the higher-ups. This Sonance character has killed ten guys in six months though so it's getting pretty serious. And this is an election year so all the politicians are scared to death he's gonna get brave and start killing candidates. The mayor's especially worried. He keeps telling Commissioner Driscoll to catch this guy or he's fired!"

"Sounds scary."

"Eh. The mayor's corrupt and the whole city knows it," said Nate jokingly. "Besides, they'll catch him. These guys all get caught eventually."

"I hope so," said Scott, turning back to the TV.

He had known about the Sonance Slayings long before he came to Memphis. In fact, they had played a big part in his decision to move. Scott could feel something circling inside him. Everything in his life – the death of his family, joining the X-Men, Duncan's murder – had led him to this point. The time had come for Scott to do what he knew he was supposed to do.

He was ready.